Public interest news is suffering: A British MP says it is dangerous when local newspapers no longer hold public bodies to account

Former UK Culture Secretary John Whittingdale says not reporting on the activities of public institutions puts democracy at risk

WHEN I WAS first elected to parliament in 1992 to represent Maldon, in the east of England, the district had two local newspapers. Both continue today but they bear little resemblance to the publications of 25 years ago. Then, one had an office in the high street where there was an editor, a deputy editor, reporters and photographers. The other, in neighbouring Chelmsford, had a full staff including a local government editor whose sole job was to cover the proceedings of the local councils.

Today, both papers have moved their offices far from the district. The main local paper is now 15 miles away and has an editor even further away who is responsible for all the papers covering the whole region. Its two reporters do their best but have only recently graduated from journalism college. It appears that there is virtually no fact-checking going on. Most photographs that appear are supplied to the paper rather than taken by a staff photographer. Often, articles appear to be simple reproductions of press releases in what Nick Davies of The Guardian calls “churnalism”.

We are lucky in my part of Essex that at least two weekly newspapers still exist. Hundreds of local newspapers have closed around Britain in recent years. We have seen the loss of more than 200 titles and 6,000 frontline journalists in the past 12 years. All too often, it is “public interest news” – investigative journalism and the reporting of public institutions – that has suffered.

The decline in the reporting of local councils and other public institutions represents a threat to democracy. With central government devolving powers to locally elected mayors, councils and police commissioners, electors are not able to find accurate information about their policies and performance, in order to decide how to vote.

The situation is mirrored in the courts. The principle that justice should not only be done but also be seen to be done is undermined if court proceedings go unreported. Research by the University of the West of England found that of 220 cases heard in one week in a Bristol court, a reporter attended just three of them.

The British government recognised the serious consequences of the decline of local media in its recently published review, A Sustainable Future for Journalism, conducted by Dame Frances Cairncross. Her report makes some useful recommendations, including a new institute for public interest news, and tax relief to support public interest journalism. The government is now considering her findings.

As Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in 2016, I worked with the BBC to set up the local democracy reporting scheme. Under this initiative, the BBC has provided £8 million for each of the next nine years to fund the employment of more than 150 journalists in partnership with local news providers. These journalists provide factual reports of what is going on in local councils and other public bodies. These are made available to the BBC and shared with more than 700 other media organisations. Already some 54,000 stories have been filed. Although it is small, it is making a difference and the scheme could easily be expanded to cover the proceedings of more elected bodies and courts.

The scheme is already attracting interest from other countries. The most obvious source of funds to expand it are online technology companies such as Google and Facebook, who are now the biggest distributors of news content. Neither employs journalists; instead they distribute stories gathered by the traditional media. It is strongly in their interests to support such schemes (see p44) as without professional journalists there will be no reliable news stories. If these companies would invest just a small proportion of their profits in this initiative, they could help sustain local journalism rather than destroy it – and, in doing so, bolster local democracy and the justice system.

We have all relied on our local newspapers over the years, and my fear is that only when they are gone will we realise their vital importance to democratic society.

Online Only Means No News for the Elderly

ROBERT HALFON, THE member of parliament for Harlow, in Essex, UK, recently said he was being contacted by elderly citizens who could no longer find out about local news as the local papers had closed down. They were ringing his office to find out what was happening in their areas.

He told the BBC that local news websites were all very well, but “you have to be online to look at it”.

He said not everyone had access to online news, adding: “It’s not just older people, because there are a lot of people who don’t have access to a computer or the internet. They may have a phone but they can’t afford the data package or they might only look at it now and then.”

Why Should We Care About Local Journalism?

I’d say the state of local news in Nigeria is gradually gaining momentum again as a result of the emerging new media platforms, mainly on the internet. But, before, it was in decline. Conversations were driven by agendas put out by international media narratives and the national and political agenda, ignoring the very people whose stories needed to be told. But with the reach and access to internet connectivity in Nigeria and the new frontier of internet-based news organisations, the situation is changing. However, local or community newspapers that help to report stories from rural communities have declined. As a matter of fact, I can say that has led to the death of local news from these sources in Nigeria as most community newspapers or community radio no longer function across the country.

MERCY ABANG, a journalist with NewsWireNGR based in Abuja, Nigeria